Thinking about buying a home? First time home buyer? Here are the top 9 mistakes that home buyers make when buying a home.
1) Move too fast. Many buyers rush into buying a new home. They only view a few and then fall in love with the home that may not be right for them. Buying a new home is an exciting thing and a home is something that you will hold on to for a few years. Take your time. Write out a list of what it is you are looking for in that home. Visit as many as possible. Revisit those that are high on your list. You'll find that moving more slowly will help you make a smarter purchase
2) Not Doing research. On top of moving too fast - many home buyers do not research the area in which they are relocating. What are the local market conditions? What is going on in the community you are looking at? Be sure to check out the history of the home you are interested in. Check out the public resources available to find out what is going on locally in terms of zoning or pending tax assessments.
3) Skipping A home Inspection. In the rush to buy a home - a buyer may want to skip a home inspection to speed up the process. A good home inspector may help a buyer find potential defects and potential problems - such as a leaky roof, water in the crawl space, or a cracked foundation.
4) Ignoring your surroundings. When buying a home - you not only get the walls of the home surrounding you - but you are gaining neighbors and a community as well.
5) Buying too much house. Bigger is not always better. Think about the upkeep of a bigger home. Not to mention the possiblity of a "bigger" mortgage payement. Do you really need that much space? You may not enjoy the home so much if you are struggling to keep up financially. Take a look at your monthly costs (food, utilities, car payment) and try not to have your monthly debts (including your mortgage payment) not be more than 36% of your monthly income.
6) Buying the priciest house on the block. If you can afford it and are not planning on moving - why not. However, home buyers will change homes once or twice in a lifetime. That's when buying the best house on the block isn't such a good idea. When it comes time to resell the house, you may find that your asking price far exceeds the price range of other homes in your area. Definite killer on buyer interest.
7) Not getting pre-qualified/pre-approved. Getting pre-qualified when thinking about buying a home - enables the buyer to find out how much home they can afford. If you start the process of searching for a home without the pre-qualified step - you may be wasting your time and energy looking at homes you cannot afford. The next step in the process is to get "Pre-approved". This gives you a step up when it comes to making an offer on the perfect home. A pre-approval letter from a lender shows a seller that a lender has agreed to lend you a specified amount of money. This will make you look more attractive to a seller when considering an offer.
8) Making an unconditional offer. An unconditional offer means an offer without contigencies. What are contigencies? One major contigency is getting a mortgage, a second contigency is the home inspection, a third contigency may be you have to sell a home to buy a home. See where I am going with this? While we think a "contigency-free" offer is a hassle-free offer - it is not always a smart move.
9) Not getting everything in writing. I always tell my clients that an verbal offer is as good as the paper it is written on. In otherwords - verbal agreements are unenforceable. To have a clear understanding of what each party is to bring to the table - put it in writting. You may think that the refrigerator and microwave go with the property, but the seller may have other ideas.
For more tips on homebuyering (or selling) visit our website at www.crystalcoasthomesearches.com